The Spirit of Things

[Hadrian]

"I am new at this is all," he assured the ghost. "And I can tell you're there whether you make yourself visible or not, so if that requires any greater effort, you needn't manifest on my account. "Hopefully practice will make it easier for the both of us, and the power I can provide." With a weary smile, he stood and collected a few different bits of food in a bowl, then sat back down at the table with them. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you saw?" he asked. "I don't mean to pry, but I hope our work together has given you a foundation for trust. I mean, I let you take control of my body, after all." That said, he took a bit out of the hunk of bread. It was starting to go stale, so it were best used now. Immediately he began to focus some of his djed into his mouth to begin the slow and steady process of transubstantiation.

[Noaru]

''That... it was something I left behind long ago in the past. I can not explain the significance of its appearance now...''

Noaru no longer resembled the large black hound like before but resembled a cloud composed of black soulmist, it was static-like in appearance almost like a hologram with a bad transmission--he had no definite shape in this state and faded in and out of view, revealing his weakened state of power. The spirit hovered just above the table, he didn't have the strength to do much else besides talking and focusing on maintaining a visible appearance, he had no facial features; eyes, a nose even a mouth these features couldn't be seen and this made the spirit look more like black talking cloud, floating in the center of the room.

''In due time... I guess practice will make perfect!''

[Hadrian]

"I wonder," Hadrian mused, hand over his mouth to politely hide the reality of mastication, "I wonder if you mightn't rest in my body. Possess me, but not attempt to take control. The human body is a fleshly engine that is animated by the soul, but also feeds it. Perhaps if it housed you too, it might feed you as well. "It would be a gentler possession, and perhaps would not require significant expenditure of energy. Do you know?" Hadrian knew a good deal, but not about the nuances of necromancy. With whom could he learn better and faster than with a willing ghost? But that meant he would put a lot of questions to the ghost himself, who might know or might be willing to experiment. The safety net was that Hadrian could produce the fuel Noaru needed to remain a cohesive entity capable of manifesting and manipulating the world around him. He began to break off pieces of cheese to add to his mouthful, the bread having reduced down to a manageable paste that tingled with djed.

[Noaru]

''But wouldn't that put a strain on your body, having two souls within your body at once... wouldn't that consume more of your bodies energy?''


Noaru was unsure about the idea, considering that he and his companion has used up so much of each others strength! He just wasn't sure but who knows: maybe, it would work and benefit in his interest... The spirit floated silently in place, wondering if the idea would work, uncooperative was his instincts--telling him that he should rest and recover precious lost soulmist before acting but his curiosity took the better of him: for if this was true that he could receive energy from a host body wouldn't that mean he could ''leech-off'' of other bodies?

''Okay... I'll give this passive possession a try since this could potentially be a new way for me to obtain energy in a more cost effective way!''

[Hadrian]

"It's worth a try," he agreed with a small smile. He took another mouthful of food, knowing his body needed its fuel too, and washed it down with water. He tried to open himself spiritually, imagining an open door for Noaru to go through without resistance that might drain him. "All right," he said. "Come in." When the spirit had made its passage, he could feel the ghost residing there, and this was certainly more comfortable that previously. He still had control of his body and didn't need to willfully abstain from controlling that body. The door to his body closed behind Noaru, and then he was quiet for some time, getting used to the feeling of this gentle possession. In a sense, perhaps, he possessed Noaru now; he knew he could hold onto a ghost somewhat, make it difficult to escape. That was one of the gifts of a spiritist, but he didn't want to expend the energy spiritually grappling with Noaru, at least not today. But he would try something. "Can you hear me?''

[Noaru]

''I can! I'm rather tired though.... Ugh.''


Noaru hated the feeling of being tired, he despised it because of his inability to wake-up properly from his slumber. The last time he had slept took him five hundred years to reawaken, something he doesn't want to go through, it was bad enough that his home and world was changed forever due to ''that day'' when everything changed when everything was taken away from him! He tried not to think of that day to much, he didn't want to take out his frustration on some poor innocent human somewhere. Although with tiredness aside, he still had enough energy to do other things, possession was out of the question.

[Hadrian]

"Well, then," he thought directly into his ghostly companion's mine, "rest awhile. I will eat and drink and take a nap. Then I will read for a while, then eat and drink and sleep. If you remain dormant until morning, I will wake you up then. I imagine I can if you are still within. Hopefully the sustenance and rest will invigorate us both." This was, of course, hypothetical, but he saw no reason why his body, properly fueled and rested, couldn't support two spirits for a while. And Noaru knew that Hadrian was master of his own body unless he became much better at possession, and so they could trust each other.

[Noaru]

''I see no harm in me doing so! I will rest and regain my strength...possibly awake most of the time.''

Noaru rested, letting his worldly troubles leave him behind, it felt good for him to relax after all he did have quite the day! The spirit was at ease for just a little while, it just seemed like yesterday that he was sleeping peacefully within his shrine before that faithful day happened--where his peaceful world was tainted with blackness just as he was... He wouldn't forget such a day when so many died and souls were sent into oblivion and yet he was spared? Fate was indeed unkind to him instead of allowing him to disappear with his comrades into the other world, it allowed him to spend five hundred years in a coma like slumber thinking of vengeance and how he would destroy the world.


However, time had taught him patience and how change would eventually come to those who waited and so he did for many years he did wait--silently beneath the earth in his dreams.

[Hadrian]

For his part, Hadrian turned the inner eye upon himself, falling into a meditative trance, the better to observe both Noaru and his own response to the welcome stowaway. He did not attempt to mine the spirit's memories, but merely to observe what happened to him when he let go of consciousness, and found that he could still feel Noaru there, but it was rather like having a bird perched sleepily on his shoulder than anything else. Something inside him felt the urge to nudge at Noaru like tonguing a loose tooth, but he kept that natural impulse in check so as not to disturb the ghost. It would be a matter of training himself to accept this spirit that wasn't his, and when he came out of the trance, he tried to maintain an inner stillness, even as he went about eating and drinking more than he normally would, filling his belly as he was eating for two. Though Noaru had no flesh of his own, the body supported the spirit, and so the food would support the both of them. Weary from their work, he cleaned up after himself, and then laid himself down to sleep. It came quickly and took him deep. He thought he saw the glimmer of Noaru's chavi as he passed that inner portal that led him into a dreamwalking state, but decided he would not read the ghost's past without his permission, and so passed that threshold into true sleep, which, oddly enough, lasted all the way until morning.

end.

[Echelon]

Adventurer's Loot A Gift Experience is its own reward. Hadrian's Loot : Hadrian Aelius Skill XP Reward Spiritism +2XP Persuasion +1XP Lore: Peculiar Employment Methods Auristics of Willing Possession: First Person Possessed: Detached, But Aware Possessed: Separating The Mind, Heard and Unheard Hibernative Possession: A Place In Your Heart For All Forging A Partnership: Noaru Possession: Increased Bodily Demands Items or Consequences: Note that should this extended possession stretches long you should chip in a appropriate addition to living costs for the season. Also, repeated possession will cause some minor damage to nerves, resulting in shots of a cold sensation through ligaments and across skin. If overexertion occurs the sensation may leave whole areas of the body numb for several minutes at a time, accompanied with a tightening sensation. This will not permanently damage the nerves, however it may be enough to give an experienced magi like Hadrian a reason to worry. Notes: None Noaru's Loot : Noaru "Radjudtlas'' Draconaus Skill XP Reward Possession +2XP Subterfuge +1XP Lore: Persevering Spontaneity Practical Caution Possession: Affords Telepathic Understanding of Host Sensation, Again: Sun On Skin Sensation, Again: Ground Under Foot Veiling Unsettling Truth Hibernative Possession Items or Consequences: None Notes: Your brevity is well placed when there is precision of thought, but when showcasing undeveloped skills you could afford to be more explicit. In short, write more about possession and the sensation and willpower necessary for it, the special experience of possessing each different and individual person and you will cultivate more XP. I appreciated witnessing the difficulty Noaru moved with at this level in possession. (So ghost appearing different than they did when alive, or mutilated versions of themselves: don't see any rules supporting this. So, for now lets just establish a special case. Hadrian is a master of auristics, and is new to possession. It is hard to see the "physical" appearance of that which is not physical. A master Aurist very well might see it's "true" form instead. Of Noaru sees himself as a hell-hound, or incorporeal mist, why would Hadrian, with his advanced skills not also see this? In fact, one of the greatest challenged of a master Aurist is to see what other people see, to NOT pierce the veil of illusion our own mind constructs for us. Note that passerbies or other individuals you thread with should still see Noaru's actual appearance, which as stated in the ghost lore page, is his human self before his death, or that form mutilated in a way coherent with his cause of death. This does not mean that Noaru, nor Hadrian need to see this form, though I suspect both could with the proper persuasion. Enjoy, and adhere to the rules!) - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, please PM me.